I very occasionally fancy seafood deep-fried in a light fluffy batter. I can live without it, and love the idea of using parmesan, almonds, etc., for breading, but I just wondered if anyone has cracked a recipe for a light crispy batter which would be a bit less carby than wheat or corn flour?

I have a well-stocked cupboard, including coconut flour and soya flour, and I am open to trying anything.

have you considered crushed or ground pork rinds?

I've been using pork rinds on chicken and tilapia as 'batter' just dip in egg and then roll in that. I also have done part pork rind, part parmesean, but now am sticking to the pork rinds alone. Just zoom them in your food processor to make the 'pork rind meal' I use a little sugar free cajun/creole seasoning too.

In the recipes section Buttoni has lots of ideas and ways to use this, even pork rind french toast (one of my favs!)

It won't be a tempura or beer batter type effect, more a crumbs (like the outside of a fish stick). I love the flavor, sort of smokey!

Thanks very much for your replies. Yes - I have breading ideas, though it's always good to get more, thanks..

What I am hoping to find is an eggy batter mix which works and is as low carb as possible. I bet there is a way of creating one - it's just a matter of the knowing.

Thanks again for your thoughtful replies

Here's one that looks decent..

http://lusciouslowcarb.blogspot.ca/...fried-fish.html

When I make battered fish I dip the pieces in egg and cover in a "batter" using crushed pork rinds, a couple tbsp of coconut flour, dill & fresh ground pepper. Fry and serve with homemade tartar (chopped dill pickel, mayo and a squeeze of lemon) and some lc coleslaw. Works for shrimp, scallops, oysters, etc... too. Yum!!

Now that I think of it, I make a coconut flour pancake and, if deep fried, might make a good batter. Here's the recipe from the book, "Cooking With Coconut Flour" by Bruce Fife.

2 eggs
2tbsp coconut oil or butter, melted
2 tbsp coconut milk or whole milk (I would use hwc)
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp sifted coconut flour
1/8 tsp baking powder

(the recipe also calls for 1 tsp sugar but I never put it in)

Blend together eggs, oil, coconut milk, (sugar), and salt. Combine coconut flour and baking powder and thoroughly mix into batter.

It goes on to tell you how to fry the pancakes....

What I have found is if you let it sit for a bit, the mixture gets thicker as the coconut flour absorbs the moisture. I'm sure adding a few spices and tweaking it to your tastes/thickness might actually make a decent coating.

Hmmm...I'll have to try this myself some time!

ETA. Wondering if the oil in the mixture would really be necessary? Also, to make it thicker and fluffier, perhaps a bit more flour and baking powder? It's definately 'tweakable'..

Wow! Your coating and serving ideas sound delicious.. Yes - I'll try these. I won't try the coconut flour immediately, because I'm doing ultra-low carb for a while.. but it'll be great to try it later.

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me all the information everyone.

There are lots of recipes around for cream cheese pancakes. Maybe one of them would do the trick if you omit any sweetener.

This is one I have used

Leaving out the spices might work as batter.
You could experiment using only 1/3rd of the recipe so as not to waste ingredients

The 2 tbsp of coconut flour is only 3 carbs...for the whole batter!!
That's the beauty of the stuff, mostly fiber and you need so little..

EllizEllen- thanks so much for that recipe. I will definitely try those. I love pancakes.

Deezil - that's great news! I should manage to squeeze that into my plan!

Thanks so much both of you for taking the time and trouble to write. I really appreciate it.

Do let us know if it works!

http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2010/0...ven-fried-fish/


This recipe is great for using on onion rings, okra, sliced yellow or zucchini squash, probably broccoli and cauliflower, too, though I haven't tried those last two yet myself.

Unlike every coating I’ve tried doing with flax meal, this recipe really came out crisp! And even the bottoms of the filets were crispy and brown! I’m sure this coating would work with cut-up chicken as well, but would naturally take longer to cook. This is Induction friendly. Though I mention tilapia and swai below, any mild fish will do for this recipe. If you don’t want to make up the homemade mayo for this, I have used sour cream to coat the fish and this cooks up just as good with sour cream! Though I have not tried it yet, It has been reported to me that this fish, when leftover, reheats in the microwave and STILL STAYS CRUNCHY! Good to know, but I never have any leftover around my house.

INGREDIENTS:

30 oz. tilapia or swai filets (six filets about 5 oz. each)
6 T. mayonnaise, I use homemade mayo: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/0...ade-mayonnaise/
3 oz. crushed plain pork rinds
½ tsp. Seafood Spice Blend: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/0...od-spice-blend/
1 T. olive oil

DIRECTIONS: Rub baking pan with olive oil. Crush pork rinds and place in shallow bowl. Add spice blend and stir well. If you like things spicy, you might want to increase the spice blend a bit. Pat surfaces of fish dry with a paper towel. Then brush each fish filet on both sides with a tablespoon of mayonnaise. Then place each filet into the crumbs to coat well on both sides and lay onto oiled baking pan. Place in hot 450º oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until done and crispy. No need to turn during cooking.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 servings, each contains:

364 calories
22.9 g fat
.43 g carbs
0 g fiber
.43 g NET CARBS
41.4 g protein
338 mg. sodium
also excellent coating/method for sliced squash, onion rings, okra and lots of things.

And if you can spend a little time on my website, you'll likely find a LC recipe for just about anything you might want. I have nearly 500 Atkins-friendly recipes there now. No promotions, no products, just RECIPES.

Thanks very much for this idea. It does look delicious and crispy.

For my plan I just use beaten eggs - I make Onion rings. I think I know what you are looking for though, a very light tempura like batter. I think 1000 yrs ago I tried to use Arrowroot powder instead of Cornstarch for a very light tempura batter. I wish I could remember if it turned out. Is Arrowroot high carb as well?
Kat